1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments presented in this disclosure generally relate to computer games and, more particularly, to a slide mechanic for replacing tiles in a computer word game.
2. Description of the Related Art
Word-forming games using individual letters of the alphabet as pieces within the game are a very popular form of game. For instance, SCRABBLE® is one of the most famous word-forming games. In this game, players receive a number of tiles containing letters and point values from a fixed set of tiles which never changes. The point values associated with the individual tiles are based on the frequency of the letters in the specific language. Players attempt to use all of their tiles to make words which they place on a game board, each player building on the first and subsequent words that are formed on the game board such that the result looks like a crossword puzzle. Players add up the points on each of the letter tiles they use in their words and record the result. Players end up with a total of points for the game which they compare with each others' score to determine a winner. Additionally, there are variations and other similar word-forming games that have features similar to those in SCRABBLE®. For instance, some of these games use playing cards instead of tiles and do not use a game board.
BOGGLE® is another type of word-forming game. In this game, the game board includes a rectangular array of letters and players are expected to form as many words from adjacent letters as is possible in a fixed time. In some variations, the letters are replaced by other letters once used. In other variations, the rectangular array of letters is fixed throughout the game. Several other popular games on the market derive from BOGGLE®, including BOOKWORM®. In BOOKWORM®, the game board includes a substantially rectangular array of letters and players attempt to form words using adjacent letters. As words are formed, the tiles used to form the words are removed from the game board and new letters appear from the top of the game board to replenish the removed tiles.
Yet another word-forming game is Word Yahtzee™. In this game, the letters are chosen by rolling dice which have letters on their faces. After a roll of the dice, the player has a set amount of time to make as many words as possible out of the letters rolled. The scoring in Word Yahtzee™ is somewhat complex, being based on a per letter value (i.e., as in Scrabble) with a number of other special situations (e.g., all vowels).
Some card-based word games consist of a deck of cards each of which contains a letter of the alphabet and a point designation. Player attempts to use all of his or her cards to form a word or words before other players. Many of these games also score the game by adding up the point values of the letters used in the words. Examples of such card-based word games include Letras® and Quiddler®. Both Letras® and Quiddler® include a method of play in which one game consists of several hands of cards. In Letras®, the dealer decides on the number of cards between three and eight to be dealt in each hand. Hands are dealt and words formed until a player accumulates a certain predetermined number of points. In Quiddler®, the number of cards dealt in each hand is fixed, with the first hand being three cards, the next four, and so on up to a hand of ten cards. The point scores the players have earned are then compared and a winner is determined.